BMC Elections Rocked by Removable Ink Row; Raj Thackeray, AAP Demand Probe

• The BMC elections on January 15 faced controversy over marker pens used instead of indelible ink, raising fears of double voting.
• MNS chief Raj Thackeray accused the State Election Commission of bias and alleged misuse of administration to influence results, claiming ink could be wiped off with sanitiser.
• AAP Mumbai president Ruben Mascarenhas shared a video demonstrating the ink's removability with nail polish remover and filed a formal complaint.
• Maharashtra State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare ordered an inquiry, stating the ink used is standard and should not come off, attributing removability to acetone use.
• Other issues included the failure of the voter list portal and prominent figures like Ganesh Naik and Priyanka Chaturvedi finding their names missing from lists.

Why It Matters: BMC elections were marred by removable ink concerns, voter list issues, and opposition allegations of malpractice.